It Was You
by 9r7g5h
Summary: In which Mattie confirms that, all those years ago, it was Annie who saved her.


**AN** : Ok, so! This was number 526, which was requested by ashleybenlove! The request was "So, it was you." This is going to take place after Soul Possession, when Mattie hears the entire story of what Xena did all those years ago to get Gabrielle back. Just a lil conversation between Mattie and Annie, after everything. A quick drabble, but I still hope you enjoy it!

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Xena.

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"So, it was you."

A red light. Annie slowed the car to a stop, taking a moment to watch the traffic in front of her, before glancing over at Mattie. She knew what she meant, even with just being dropped into the middle of the conversation, but she knew.

"Of course."

"I always wondered, you know," Mattie said after another moment of silence; this was the first time either of them had spoken in an hour, since they had left the conference hall behind. They were following Henry to the house- Mattie needed to get her things, and they all needed to talk about how things stood between them. Especially Annie and Henry. Their minds were the same, but their souls were what could probably count as the exact opposite of what they had been, and they needed to sort some things out.

Divorce papers needed to be filed, she and Henry needed to figure out what they were doing with the dogs and the house and everything they owned together from their wedding; this entire day had flipped their lives on their heads, and they needed to think.

But, for now, while Gabrielle's memories were still fresh in her mind, just like she knew they were still fresh and new in Annie's, Mattie needed to work out a three thousand year old issue that had always bothered her past life.

"Wondered what," Annie asked as the light turned green, as the car in front of her began to move, her own foot moving to the gas. She made sure to keep behind Henry's car, not that she needed it. It was strange- she had some of the man's memories, so she already knew where she was going, despite never having been to his and Mattie's house before. But she still followed, just in case they were wrong.

"How I lived. How I survived Hope."

Annie couldn't help it- she flinched at the name, though she was quick to cover it up. In the fading light, she was hoping Mattie hadn't been able to see it. A quick glance over confirmed that she had.

"I couldn't lose you." The statement was almost a question, her voice rising at the end ever so slightly. Those weren't Annie's own words, though they came from her lips; it wasn't hard to realize what was going on. It wasn't her body that was speaking, but her soul. "Even if it meant marrying Ares, I couldn't let you go."

"That was smart, throwing the bottle into the ocean," Mattie said casually, reaching over and laying her hand on Annie's arm. Immediately, Annie let go of the steering wheel with that arm and held out her hand, interlocking their fingers as Mattie took it. "Of course," she added, a sly little grin on her face, "throwing it into a volcano would have been better."

"We had a three hours lead on Ares," Annie grumbled, rolling her eyes as Mattie laughed- a sound that quelled the small bubble of annoyance. "Where the hell were we supposed to find a volcano?"

"I'm sure you could have managed it. Xena, the great Warrior Princess? What can't she do?" Mattie squeezed their hands together tighter, letting her know she was just teasing.

"According to that tv show that's airing, not much. Of course, that was probably just how you wrote your scrolls. You always were mythologizing me." Annie let go of Mattie's hand as they turned into the driveway, the large white house before her strange and familiar, double mixed feelings as her desire to tense at entering a new place and relax at getting home warred within her.

"Because it's true." Leaning over, Mattie placed a quick kiss against Annie's cheek, lingering for a single moment before reluctantly pulling away. "Now come on. Jox- Henry's waiting inside for us. This is going to be a mess."

"But we've had worse," Annie pointed out as she unbuckled her seat belt and slid from the car, staring at Henry, who was already waiting for them by door to the house. "We'll get this figured out, soon enough."

They had a lot to talk about, a lot of things they had to discuss and work through, but they would do it, and it would be ok.


End file.
